Commercial cooking oven with combustion divider

ABSTRACT

A cooking oven includes a cooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to be moved into and out of the cooking cavity. A combustion area is located below the cooking cavity and a combustion gas flow space includes paths along left and right external sides of the cooking cavity. A burner is disposed in the combustion area and has a left burner segment disposed left of a centerline of the cooking cavity and a right burner segment disposed right of the centerline of the cooking cavity. A baffle arrangement is located in the combustion area. The baffle arrangement includes an upper baffle that has a low point substantially aligned with the centerline, and a lower baffle wall extending downward from the low point and between the left burner segment and the right burner segment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to commercial cooking ovens and, morespecifically, to an oven including a combustion dividing bafflearrangement to provide even flow of combustion gases around the sides ofthe cooking cavity.

BACKGROUND

In commercial kitchens (e.g., found in restaurant, cafeteria and retailenvironments) ovens of various types are used for cooking a largevariety of food items. ovens utilizing gas-burners for heating of theoven cavity are known. In systems utilizing gas burners difficulties canarise in assuring that combustion gases traverse desired flow paths in amanner that will provide relatively even heating of the oven cavity.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a cooking oven adapted toprovide an even flow of combustion gases between desired paths aroundthe cavity.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a cooking oven includes cavity walls defining an internalcooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to be moved intoand out of the cooking cavity, and at least one door mounted forproviding access to the cooking cavity. Firewalls are spaced from anddisposed about the cooking cavity to define a space for flow ofcombustion gases around the cavity walls, including a combustion areabelow the cooking cavity, a left flow path externally along a leftcavity wall and a right flow path externally along a right cavity wall.A burner is disposed in the combustion area and having a left burnersegment disposed left of a centerline of the cooking cavity and a rightburner segment disposed right of the centerline of the cooking cavity. Abaffle arrangement is located in the combustion area, the bafflearrangement configured for directing combustion gases from the leftburner segment along the left flow path and for directing combustiongases from the right burner segment along the right flow path.

In another aspect, a cooking oven includes cavity walls defining aninternal cooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to bemoved into and out of the cooking cavity, and at least one door mountedfor providing access to the cooking cavity. Firewalls are spaced fromand disposed about the cooking cavity to define a space for flow ofcombustion gases around the cavity walls, including a combustion areabelow the cooking cavity, a left flow path externally along a leftcavity wall and a right flow path externally along a right cavity wall.A burner disposed in the combustion area and includes a left burnersegment disposed left of a centerline of the cooking cavity and a rightburner segment disposed right of the centerline of the cooking cavity. Abaffle arrangement is located in the combustion area, the bafflearrangement configured for directing combustion gases from the leftburner segment along the left flow path and for directing combustiongases from the right flow segment along the right flow path. The bafflearrangement includes an upper baffle that has a low point substantiallyaligned with the centerline, and a lower baffle wall extending downwardfrom the low point and between the left burner segment and the rightburner segment.

In a further aspect, a cooking oven includes a cooking cavity with anopening for enabling food items to be moved into and out of the cookingcavity. A combustion area is located below the cooking cavity and acombustion gas flow space includes paths along left and right externalsides of the cooking cavity. A burner is disposed in the combustion areaand has a left burner segment disposed left of a centerline of thecooking cavity and a right burner segment disposed right of thecenterline of the cooking cavity. A baffle arrangement is located in thecombustion area. The baffle arrangement including a lower baffle wallhaving a lower portion between the left burner segment and the rightburner segment and an upper portion higher than the left burner segmentand the right burner segment.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, objects, andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cooking oven;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial front elevation view showing the combustion area ofthe oven of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the combustion area and cookingcavity of the oven of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is another partial perspective view of the combustion area andcooking cavity of the oven of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is another partial perspective view of the combustion area andcooking cavity of the oven of FIG. 1 showing the baffle wall connectedto a removable front cover plate;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the oven showing the cover plateconnected to a front firewall;

FIG. 8 is a partial front elevation showing another embodiment of abaffle arrangement;

FIG. 9 is partial front elevation showing another embodiment of a bafflearrangement; and

FIG. 10 is a partial front elevation showing another embodiment of abaffle arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of a cooking oven 10 isshown. The oven includes an box-shaped housing 12 with top, bottom,front, rear and left and right sides. The front side of the housingincludes an opening 14 through which food items can be moved into andout of an internal cooking cavity 16. The housing 10 may, by way ofexample, be made up of external skins 40 (e.g., of stainless steel),frame components, internal cavity walls 42 (e.g., also of stainlesssteel), and firewalls 44 between the cavity walls 42 and the externalskins 40 (e.g., where insulation may be provided between the firewalls44 and the skins 40). The cooking cavity may also include an internalrack system with one or more food product receiving racks 18. Userinterface controls 20 are also shown alongside the cavity, with a sidecompartment 50 being provided to hold various control components as wellas other oven components.

The illustrated oven 10 includes two door assemblies 20, 22, each ofwhich is mounted to the housing 12 for rotation about a respectivevertical pivot axis 24, 26 via pivot assemblies 30. The pivoting actionenables each of the doors to move independently between a closedposition and an open position relative to the cooking cavity. In certainembodiments, the doors 20, 22 may be easily removable from the housingto facilitate cleaning as described in U.S. Patent Publication No.2015/0211745.

As seen in FIG. 2, in the space between the lower firewall 44 and lowercavity wall 42 provides a combustion area in which a U-shaped burner 60is mounted. The U-shaped burner includes left and right elongated sidesegments 62 and 64 joined by a curved segment 66, where the curvedsegment 66 is located toward the rear of the oven and the side segments62 and 64 are disposed left and right of a centerline 200 of the ovencavity. Gas emission orifices are located along the upper portion ofboth side segments 62 and 64, and may also be located on the curvedsegment 66. A radial blower 70 is located at the rear of the oven cavity16 behind an intake plate 72 that includes a central set of intakeopenings 74. A duct 76 has a lower end that aligns with and opens to theopenings 74 and runs upward to an opening the upper cavity wall 42 toprovide a flow passage from the space between the upper firewall 44 andcavity wall 42 to the blower. During oven heating the blower 70 isoperated and the burner 60 is operated. As depicted by the flow arrows80 in FIG. 2, the blower draws gases down through the duct 76, such thatan overall flow of combustion gases is from the centrally located burner60 laterally to the left and right, upward along the exterior left sideand right side cavity walls 42, over the top of the upper cavity wall tothe opening leading to duct 76, downward through the duct 76 and intothe intake of the blower 70, then radially outwardly from the blower 70within the oven cavity 16.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a baffle arrangement 100 is provided in thecombustion area to aid in providing relatively even flow of combustiongases on the left and right sides of the cavity. The baffle arrangementincludes an upper baffle wall 102 and a lower baffle wall 104 extendingdownward from the upper baffle wall 102 between the burner tube segments62 and 64. The baffle wall 102 includes a central and lowest segment 106formed by a deep V-structure of the wall that is substantially centeredon the centerline 200 of the oven cavity. The sides 106A, 106B definingthe V-shape may be offset from vertical by an angle (e.g., θ1 in FIG. 3)of no more than about forty degrees (e.g., between about ten degrees andabout forty degrees) to provide a relatively steep incline. In theillustrated embodiment the bottom of the deep V-structure is locatedslightly above the top of the burner 60 (e.g., between about ¼ inch andabout 1 inch above the top of the burner structure). The upper ends ofsides 106A, 106B join with more gradually inclined baffle segments 108A,108B. In one example, segments 108A, 108B are offset from vertical by anangle (e.g., θ2 in FIG. 3) of at least about fifty degrees (e.g., atleast about 60 degrees or at least about 70 degrees).

As best seen in FIGS. 3-6, the baffle wall 104 (which may be in the formof a plate or adjacent plates) extends downward from the bottom of theV-shaped segment 106. Where the baffle wall 104 is removable, as in thecase of the illustrated embodiment, positioning plates 110A, 110B mayextend laterally and upwardly from the baffle wall 104 to provide aY-shaped baffle structure. The bottom of the V-shaped segment 106 sitswithin the Y-shape to provide proper alignment between the baffle wall104 and the V-shaped segment 106 and to assure that combustion gases onthe left side of baffle wall 104 move to the left and upward along theside 106A, and combustion gases on the right side of the baffle wallmove to the right and upward along the side 106B.

As seen in FIG. 4, the bottom edge of the majority of the baffle 104 maybe raised slightly above the lower firewall and, in this case, issupported in part by a downwardly extending foot 112 located along theplate. As seen in illustrated embodiment of FIG. 5, the baffle wall 104may extend only partly along the front to rear extent of the U-shapedburner 60 and V-shaped segment 106 (e.g., the baffle wall may extendalong between about forty percent and about eighty percent of the lengthof the front to rear extent of the U-shaped burner, such as betweenabout fifty percent and about seventy percent). However, othervariations are possible, including those in which the baffle wallextends along substantially the entire front to rear extent of theU-shaped burner.

A burner nozzle 120 is connect to burner segment 64 and provides the gasfeed for the entire U-shaped burner. At the front end of the baffle walla set of lateral mount tabs 122 are provided for securing the bafflewall to a removable combustion cover plate 130, which in turn mounts(e.g., using screws) to a front firewall 132 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). Themount tabs 122 include fastener openings 124 that align with fasteneropenings 134 in the cover plate 130, and screws are used to connect thecover plate 130 and baffle wall 104. When the cover plate 130 is removedto access the burner, the baffle wall 104 is also removed, the twoplates 130 and 104 being an interconnected unit. The front end of thebaffle wall also includes a set of forwardly extending alignment tabs140 that align with and fit within respective alignment slots 142 of thecover plate 130. The alignment tabs and slots help properly position themount tabs fastener openings 124 into alignment with the cover platefastener openings 134.

The baffle structures may, for example, all be formed of stainlesssteel, as can the cover plate 130.

It is to be clearly understood that the above description is intended byway of illustration and example only, is not intended to be taken by wayof limitation, and that other changes and modifications are possible.For example, in certain embodiments, the upper baffle 102 with deepV-shaped segment 106 may suffice to provide even distribution of thecombustion gases, eliminating the need for the vertical baffle wall, asshown in FIG. 8. In other embodiments, the deep V-shaped segment may beeliminated from the upper baffle. In one such example shown in FIG. 9,the vertical baffle wall extends vertically higher, as suggested byupper baffle 102′ and baffle wall 104′. In the arrangement of FIG. 9 thebaffle wall 104′ could also be formed a part of a Y-shaped bafflestructure as suggested by the dashed lines in FIG. 9, in which case alow point of upper baffle 102′ would be positioned within the Y-shape.In another example, an upper baffle 102″ could be bent or otherwiseformed to provide a substantially vertical central portion 150 as shownin FIG. 10, where a baffle wall 104″ that is formed as part of aY-shaped baffle structure is also shown in dashed line form. Othervariations are possible.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooking oven, comprising: cavity walls definingan internal cooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to bemoved into and out of the cooking cavity; at least one door mounted forproviding access to the cooking cavity; firewalls spaced from anddisposed about the cooking cavity to define a space for flow ofcombustion gases around the cavity walls, including a combustion areabelow the cooking cavity, a left flow path externally along a leftcavity wall and a right flow path externally along a right cavity wall;a burner disposed in the combustion area and having a left burnersegment disposed left of a centerline of the cooking cavity and a rightburner segment disposed right of the centerline of the cooking cavity;and a baffle arrangement in the combustion area, the baffle arrangementconfigured for directing combustion gases from the left burner segmentalong the left flow path and for directing combustion gases from theright burner segment along the right flow path.
 2. The cooking oven ofclaim 1 wherein the baffle arrangement includes an upper baffle walldisposed above the burner, the upper baffle wall having a profile thatincludes a deep V-shaped segment substantially centered on thecenterline.
 3. The cooking oven of claim 2 wherein a bottom of the deepV-shaped segment is positioned between about ¼ inch and about one inchabove a top of the burner.
 4. The cooking oven of claim 2 wherein thedeep V-shaped segment includes a left side and a right side extendingupward from a bottom of the deep V-shaped segment, the left side and theright side are both offset from vertical by no more than about fortydegrees.
 5. The cooking oven of claim 4 wherein an upper end the leftside joins with a more gradually inclined left baffle segment, an upperend of the right side joins with a more gradually inclined right bafflesegment.
 6. The cooking oven of claim 2 wherein the left baffle segmentis offset from vertical by an angle of at least about fifty degrees, andthe right baffle segment is offset from vertical by an angle of at leastabout fifty degrees.
 7. The cooking oven of claim 2 wherein the bafflearrangement includes a lower baffle wall extending downward from abottom of the deep V-shaped segment and between the left burner segmentand the right burner segment.
 8. The cooking oven of claim 7 wherein thelower baffle wall is connected to a removable cover plate at a front ofthe combustion area so as to be removable with the cover plate.
 9. Thecooking oven of claim 7 wherein the lower baffle wall is formed as partof a Y-shaped baffle structure, wherein the bottom of the deep V-shapedsegment sits within the Y-shape to provide proper alignment between thelower baffle wall and the deep V-shaped segment.
 10. The cooking oven ofclaim 1 wherein the baffle arrangement includes a baffle wall having alower portion between the left burner segment and the right burnersegment and an upper portion higher than the left burner segment and theright burner segment, the baffle wall connected to a removable coverplate at a front of the combustion area so as to be removable with thecover plate.
 11. A cooking oven, comprising: cavity walls defining aninternal cooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to bemoved into and out of the cooking cavity; at least one door mounted forproviding access to the cooking cavity; firewalls spaced from anddisposed about the cooking cavity to define a space for flow ofcombustion gases around the cavity walls, including a combustion areabelow the cooking cavity, a left flow path externally along a leftcavity wall and a right flow path externally along a right cavity wall;a burner disposed in the combustion area and having a left burnersegment disposed left of a centerline of the cooking cavity and a rightburner segment disposed right of the centerline of the cooking cavity;and a baffle arrangement in the combustion area, the baffle arrangementconfigured for directing combustion gases from the left burner segmentalong the left flow path and for directing combustion gases from theright flow segment along the right flow path, the baffle arrangementincluding an upper baffle that has a low point substantially alignedwith the centerline, and a lower baffle wall extending downward from thelow point and between the left burner segment and the right burnersegment.
 12. The cooking oven of claim 11 wherein the lower baffle wallis connected to a removable cover plate at a front of the combustionarea so as to be removable with the cover plate.
 13. The cooking oven ofclaim 12 wherein the lower baffle wall is supported at its front side bythe cover plate and toward its rear side by a downwardly extendingsupport foot.
 14. The cooking oven of claim 12 wherein a front side ofthe lower baffle wall includes at least first and second alignment tabsthat engage respectively with first and second alignment slots in thecover plate.
 15. The cooking oven of claim 11 wherein the lower bafflewall is formed as part of a Y-shaped baffle structure, wherein the lowpoint of the upper baffle sits within the Y-shape to provide properalignment between the lower baffle wall and the upper baffle.
 16. Thecooking oven of claim 11 wherein the lower baffle wall extends alongbetween about forty percent and about eighty percent of a length of theleft and right burner segments.
 17. A cooking oven, comprising: acooking cavity with an opening for enabling food items to be moved intoand out of the cooking cavity; a combustion area below the cookingcavity and a combustion gas flow space along left and right externalsides of the cooking cavity; a burner disposed in the combustion areaand having a left burner segment disposed left of a centerline of thecooking cavity and a right burner segment disposed right of thecenterline of the cooking cavity; and a baffle arrangement in thecombustion area, the baffle arrangement including a baffle wall having alower portion between the left burner segment and the right burnersegment and an upper portion higher than the left burner segment and theright burner segment.
 18. The cooking oven of claim 17 wherein thebaffle wall is connected to a removable cover plate at a front of thecombustion area so as to be removable with the cover plate to provideaccess to the burner.
 19. The cooking oven of claim 18 wherein thebaffle wall is supported at its front side by the cover plate and towardits rear side by a downwardly extending support foot and issubstantially aligned with the centerline.
 20. The cooking oven of claim17 wherein the baffle arrangement includes an upper baffle that has alow point substantially aligned with the centerline, and the baffle wallis formed as part of a Y-shaped baffle structure, wherein the low pointof the upper baffle sits within the Y-shape to provide proper alignmentbetween the baffle wall and the upper baffle.